Daddy dressing disaster meets Santa

Santa visited Collin's school on Wednesday, and Grandma Libia and Daddy joined him for some photos. We had laid out Collin's outfit the night before, but Cas called an audible Wednesday morning when I was at work, combining two different Christmas tops for a fashion failure. Collin was too busy decidimg whether Santa was friend or foe to care about his clothing selection.

At first he wasn't so sure -

But by the time Daddy joined for a picture, with some candy cane bribery, they were all friends -

Thanksgiving and Hanukkah in NB

On Black Friday, we slept late and burnt our energy, not in the stores but on the court. Great Grandma Jewell Rae made a triumphant return to the tennis court, having missed out on tennis for the last few years. And Collin was ready to serve as ball boy for the adults, returning a ball to Great Uncle Larry.

Next up was beautiful Landa Park and Collin's first train ride. We handed our tickets to the conductor and off we went, snaking through the park, by the streams of the Comal River, with a huge smile plastered on Collin's face and big eyes absorbing the wonder of the choo-choo train.
If that weren't enough excitement for one day, we de-boarded the train and headed to the ducks. We happened to have a bag of pretzel goldfish and the ducks and geese happily shared our snacks.

On to the playground, for some rides on the rocking motorcycle and climbs on the jungle gym.
After a long nap to recover from our busy morning, it was time for Hanukkah. As we waited for the family to assemble, Collin read with Great Uncle Walter and cousin Leah.
And posed for pictures with Daddy in their matching light blue hats -

We said the prayer, sung the song, and then the grandchildren - and great grandchild - lit the 8 candles, symbolizing the 8 days that the oil lasted in 165 B.C.
Collin doesn't really know why he's clapping as the Hanukkah candles are lit, but it seems all around him everyone is smiling and clapping so he joins along -

Next up, time for a gift exchange. Great Uncle Larry gifted Collin with a stuffed cow, now affectionately named Calvin, and when he pulled it out of the bag he exclaimed, "Cow, MOOOOO!" Here he is in mid-MOOO.

Clapping for himself as he finished the puzzle from cousin Jackson -

Posing with Great Grandma Jewell Rae and Leah -

With Grammy and Brownie at Hanukkah and then the next day at the gym playing his first game of shuffleboard -

Though we were so excited about his first train ride, Collin's clearest memories of the weekend were spending time with all his family and the deer. At dusk the first evening, Collin saw deer. From that point on he was obsessed. He always saw "three deer" no matter the number, unless they were "hiding." And now at home, we look for deer in our front yard and backyard daily. Last weekend he went hunting for lizards in Great Aunt Debbie's backyard with Brownie, and so when they came back inside, Brownie asked Collin what they found. "DEER!!!" he exclaimed. Except not really, it was just two lizards.

Thanksgiving

We gathered for lunch at Grandma Libia's on Thanksgiving and enjoyed the afternoon with family. Collin was the only toddler around, so he was showered with attention. Here he is on the shoulders of cousin Jonathan -

Posing as John carved the turkey in the background. It was Grandma Libia's first turkey and it was amazing - wrapped in bacon, which of course is a good sign, and so juicy and flavorful. Cas' sweet cousin John and our wonderful sister-in-law, Aunt Elida, both brought chocolate cake. It was a Thanksgiving miracle in this mostly-vanilla loving family!

Collin with Great Grandma Lita. He LOVES Lita and gets to see her every Wednesday with Grandma Libia. Grandma Libia has taught Collin to say, "come on, chica" to Lita which I find amusing.

Cas and Lita share a birthday which this year happened to fall on Thanksgiving. A vanilla cake to celebrate -

We had a great meal with Cas' family and then headed to New Braunsfels, listening to the Aggie-UT game on the drive up . . . in which I clearly should have stayed in the car because as soon as we got out of the car in NB, my Ags fell apart!

Family Portraits

We have a good family picture from when Collin is one week old, and now we have a whole new set of photos to cover our walls thanks to my friend Claire. We met Claire and my parents near downtown before Thanksgiving and are thrilled with all the wonderful pictures she got in an hour - better than anything we've taken in the last 22 months!
Happy boy (in between one, two, three swing) -
He was tired of smiling right-side-up but gave a huge grin upside-down
Studying mommy's necklace
Eskimo kisses -
Father and hoodlum son -
Pointing to Grammy and Brownie at Discovery Green -
Happy to escape the posing -
Size 8 little boy boots -
My matching men -
Tickle attack -
A fun afternoon with some great results - and our faves will show up in Christmas cards!